Lt Governor Manoj Sinha announced Family ID for the residents of J&K. It was introduced as Family Pehchan Patra (FPP) for the people of the Union Territory but has been criticized by some political parties in Kashmir. The Family Pehchan Patra will be a unique 8-digit alphanumeric ID card, which will identify the family and its members through the head of the family. It will be different from the Aadhar Card in that it will function as a single identifier for every family and individual, not just an individual, as in the case of Aadhar.
This card will include the details of all members of the family, like their names, ages, employment status, qualifications, etc. This will be linked to the bank account and Aadhar of the head of the family.
Significance of the scheme
- It will identify the families of the UT with which it will confirm the eligibility for any Welfare schemes and facilities proposed by the government.
- It will help directly transfer the benefits of a scheme to the person’s bank account without any human interference.
- It is based on creating a verified, reliable, and authentic database for families residing in Jammu and Kashmir.
- It will help to trace duplicate ration cards.
- It will help the government to identify families with educated people who are unemployed.
- The presence of data relating to births, deaths, and marriages will help the government to frame policies benefiting the citizens with updated population data.
Why is FPP criticized by political parties?
- The opposition has criticized it by saying that the name of ‘Unique family IDs’ is widening the trust deficit among the people of J&K.
- It is a waste of time and resources and is similar to the system of Aadhar.
- It also questions the government’s ability to protect the personal data of individuals and families living in Kashmir. With the increase in cybercrime attacks, the data of individuals are insecure.
- As said by the National Conference spokesperson, it is a waste of resources. The government should focus on effectively delivering present schemes and policies to benefit the citizens.
Similar family databases in other states
- Haryana stands as the first state to propose a similar database of family pehchan patra.
- To provide the benefits of social service schemes to the citizens, in 2021, the government of Punjab introduced such a system.
- The Uttar Pradesh government recently introduced the UP Parivar Kalyan Card in November 2022.
- “Jan Aadhar Yojana”, a system established by the Rajasthan government, aims to deliver cash and non-cash benefits to the citizens identified under the scheme.
